Juvenile: Lil’ Wayne Wanted To Leave Cash Money

It’s long been known that Juvenile’s break from Cash Money was less than amicable. Indeed, the New Orleans rapper didn’t hold back when he noted that he and his old label had a dispute over money. In a new interview with Complex, Juvenile goes into more detail about his legal challenge for royalties and reveals that at one point Lil’ Wayne wanted to ditch the record label, too.

On leaving Cash Money and getting what he felt owed to him:

“My reason [to leave Cash Money] is the same reason most artists leave their label—money. The music business is like the sports business. We use entertainment agents, entertainment lawyers. The only difference is they play sports. We all try to operate a certain way.

“When you put in that much work, you should be compensated for it. I’m number one on this station, number one on that station so I checked the contracts and went back over the paperwork. I was naïve in the beginning, I didn’t want anybody telling me anything because, hey, you didn’t help me get this situation and you’re on the outside. I should’ve listened because they had me in a contract that I’d still be in. There was no future for me in the contract.

“So I went, ‘Well, damn. I’m working like a slave and I’m getting nothing.’ So I got an entertainment lawyer and found out Cash Money weren’t who they said they were with me. One thing led to another and I said, ‘Pay me this and we’re cool’. They ain’t pay us and we went to court. They lost in court. Simple as that.

“I wanted $4 million. I didn’t want to go to trial, but they felt like they didn’t owe me anything. That $4 million wound up going to $11 million. Of course I didn’t get all with court fees and lawyer fees, but it put me through the ringer where I didn’t want to do anymore business again.

“I had to do all that to get money that I earned. I kind of paved the way for all that you got going on right now. If you were gonna pay anybody, me and Mannie should be the first two people the check was cut to. Mannie is still trying to get his money right now, it’s crazy.

On Lil’ Wayne wanting Juvi’s help out of Cash Money:

“When Wayne was trying to leave Cash Money [in the mid 2000s], same thing. He was trying to find out how did I leave, what did I do, he wanted to see my paperwork. I was like you can see it, but you’re gonna have to pay me for it now because now I know you ain’t with me. You’re own your own because I’m definitely on my own. If you want the paperwork and help from my end, I need to be compensated for it. [He never paid for it].

“Still up to the day, Wayne really got beat out of all his money and took another contract. That’s part I never understood. I was signed to Atlantic and Jay-Z was excited about that because now we was about to get our own money. That’s what I really wanted. I wanted him to leave. All of a sudden he signed back I’m like, ‘Damn, what type of deal he got working?’

“If you notice the Young Money/Cash Money imprint, some of the stuff that need to say Young Money don’t say Young Money. I know Baby and I know Ronald [“Slim” Williams]. They ain’t giving up power of their company. They don’t care how big Wayne gets, they not giving up. If I didn’t getting it, he ain’t getting it.